The Green Faire in Hout Bay last Saturday

A refreshing perspective on the local green-scene, the Hout Bay Green Faire is the perfect opportunity to network with like-minded people as well as support businesses that have their ethical heads on straight.

For people like me, who relish the idea of a zero-waste, creatively-inspired society living close to and in harmony with nature, this was a piece of paradise. Overwhelming even, to have so much of what you normally have to hunt for in the same place for one day. Almost makes those high ideals feel within reach.

As to be expected, Green Peace were busy sharing their message and the Talent Exchange guys could be spotted too. A cluster of trees standing near the centre represented the presence of Food and Trees For Africa, and many seedlings were on sale at a bargain, from strawberry to tomato plants.

Many local NGO’s/NPO’s were being represented, as well as there being a lot of information available about community initiatives such as Hout Bay Green Drinks. Many different kinds of renewable energy technologies were on display, from wind turbines to a solar water heater that even works in the shade!

Cool chairs made from recycled tyres

The Heart Space was a great place to chill and listen to talks given by the likes of Anthea Torr and Tony Budden, all being filmed by EcoBuzz. Claire from Muizenberg was busy working on a big painting of an optimistic future - kids joining in to colour in the massive frog whose speech bubble read ‘inspired by sustainable energy’.

Everyone was eager to tell me about their cause, from the people who sold chips to decrease radiation from cellphones to the FLOE guys (‘did you know it’s the year of the forest?’). The anti-nuclear movement were offering a chance to sign the petition against further nuclear development in the Western Cape and the rhino anti-poacher organisation had a stall selling various crafts where you again could show your support through your signature.

We tasted some of Rolene’s olives (of RawLean) as we read the pegged messages hosted by ‘Consider Us – 20 words to save our world’. Next we wandered past a woman giving a special Xhosa massage and another stall decorated with large round Aztec stones, presumably selling Mayan Calendars. I had to giggle at the stall whose floor was scattered with rose-quarts crystals.

The messages of hope written by children

Solar-powered toys buzzed as the clouds moved away yet again. That morning had brought rain but the rays had seemed to have miraculously pulled through. Cloudy with bursts of sunshine - at least then there was less risk of burning, but I saw a man buy a wide-brimmed hat from Hemporium all the same.

The children’s singing talent show was a little hard on the ears at times, but we sat and watched for a while anyway. I was really amped to see the much-rumoured eco fashion show, but even though I managed to somehow miss it, I caught glimpses of girls donned in dresses made of tins.

The fallafel queue was worth the wait, and next door juice was being freshly squeezed while crowds nearby munched on EarthShines delicious raw pizza. I had a cup of homemade lemonade from Portobello, admiring the spinach quiche on sale.

The Recycle Market

The kids area in the middle was really very charming, where children sold goods made from recycled resources; for example a decorated cereal box made a nice shopping bag and old toilet roll middles made a pretty pencil-holding unit.

Second-hand clothes hung from racks, all proceeds going to The Little Angels charity organisation and the DreamWeavers jungle gyms kept many children happy throughout the day.

As we made our way around the faire, I spotted many amazing environmentally-friendly art ideas, from papier-mache animals to pieces made from sand and old driftwood. Curtains made from old colourful bottle tops danced on the breeze.
I especially liked a set of gorgeous blue kitchen glasses made from recycled glass bottles (their amazing DIY kit would make a great gift too!).

All in all, it was a great experience and I now have a big stack of flyers and business cards of local green businesses to check out. Nice!

Thanks to Grant McPherson for the photographs!